FortSask

Alberta’s Health Minister Jason Copping, alongside chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw, gave an in-person update on Wednesday afternoon regarding the current COVID-19 situation across the province. 

The duo said the update served as a reminder that COVID-19 continues to put pressure on the Alberta healthcare system but vaccines and a better understanding of the virus have Albertans “learning to live with it,” according to Copping. 

On Tuesday, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced an investment of over $860,000 in six businesses under the Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) program.

“These projects are supporting Canadian agricultural technology companies as they develop innovative solutions to help farmers reduce waste, conserve resources and improve efficiency. By investing in innovation and technology, Canadian agriculture will continue to pave the way for new ideas and methods to keep Canadian agriculture strong and well-positioned for the future,” said Bibeau.

Kelly Dawson is in police custody again after another violation of his house arrest.

Dawson's criminal past goes back to 2020 when the Fort Saskatchewan Traffic/Crime Reduction Unit searched a residence in Lamont. Police found suspected Meth, codeine, Xanax, mushrooms and a fake gun.

Some of Dawson's charges included possession for the purpose of trafficking, obstruction, abandoning a child and criminal negligence. He was placed into custody before being released on house arrest.

Vaccinated travellers will no longer require a negative COVID-19 test to come to Canada as of April 1, according to a source in the federal government. 

The source, who is not authorized to speak publicly about the upcoming policy change, says an official announcement is expected later this week.

At the end of February, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced travellers coming to Canada would be able to present a negative rapid-antigen test at the border as an alternative to a more costly and time-consuming molecular test.

Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate climbed to 5.7 per cent in February, its highest level since August 1991 and the second straight month over 5 per cent.

Helping to drive the increase in February were higher gasoline prices that were up 32.3 per cent compared with February 2021 and 6.9 per cent from a month earlier.

Statistics Canada says that excluding gasoline prices, the headline inflation rate would have been 4.7 per cent in February.

While some residents are dealing with growing power bills, they shouldn't have to worry about it affecting their taxes as well.

According to the City of Fort Saskatchewan, they have contracts in place for power bills for their facilities. This means their costs are fixed and have not fluctuated with some of the recent increases.

As such, no extra pressure will be put on residents to cover higher costs.

Information on utility services and providers in Fort Saskatchewan can be found here.

The federal minister in charge of the Canada Revenue Agency was told after the election that the agency planned to go full speed on collecting debts just in time for tax season.

The briefing documents to Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier said the agency planned the full resumption of collection activities early this year.

The move was the last of four steps the CRA planned to take after it had to adjust its efforts given health and economic concerns linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Every morning, Samantha Cover wakes up and braces for what the day will bring.

For two years, the mother of four has been living with the post−COVID−19 condition known as long COVID, which has limited her abilities to engage in physical activity, process information and work long hours. 

If she walks too fast, she starts gasping for breath. Headaches are frequent and her vision turns blurry at times. She suffers from brain fog, fatigue, memory loss and a chronic sore throat. 

The Fort Saskatchewan RCMP have arrested a man for multiple gun offences and uttering threats.

Mounties say they received a call from a house in Lamont County on Sunday morning (Mar. 13).

According to police, the person called and said Kelly Dawson was threatening to shoot him. When police arrived at the house, the victim said Dawson had shot the gun at him, but he wasn't hit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an impassioned plea for more support and the closure of his country's airspace during a virtual address to Canadian members of Parliament and senators in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

Zelenskyy says 97 children have been killed since Russia launched its invasion of his country. He asked Canadians to imagine the terror and horror of homes burning and cities being bombed and destroyed.